Ubisoft's The Crew is shutting down 31st March 2024 and will be unplayable after that because it is online only.

d3athf1sh

d3athf1sh

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Dec 16, 2015
Messages
1,245
and you think since you can play this single player, they'd keep it playable. you'd think ubisoft wouldn't want the bad press right now? but this looks like our digital future gentleman.

the crew.jpg
 
I know i hate more government involvement, but i really want any game released to have a written EOL plan at release which would include whether they will remove playability or provide an offline mode and this EOL plan needs to be enforced. Not sure how to go about it but would help in my opinion.
 
Darunion said:
I know i hate more government involvement, but i really want any game released to have a written EOL plan at release which would include whether they will remove playability or provide an offline mode and this EOL plan needs to be enforced. Not sure how to go about it but would help in my opinion.
Click to expand...
that and something like this they could easily just make it single player only or let people run private servers. this is equal to them coming in your house and yanking a game you paid for off your shelf. should be illegal.

i guess the crew 3 is coming?? or what?
 
d3athf1sh said:
that and something like this they could easily just make it single player only or let people run private servers. this is equal to them coming in your house and yanking a game you paid for off your shelf. should be illegal.

i guess the crew 3 is coming?? or what?
Click to expand...
Yea. I still feel that video games are a level of art and should always exist (in some form) and companies should provide a way to immortalize it so people could always enjoy it no matter when.
 
d3athf1sh said:
and you think since you can play this single player, they'd keep it playable. you'd think ubisoft wouldn't want the bad press right now? but this looks like our digital future gentleman.

View attachment 620106
Click to expand...

That is absolute bullshit.

It doesn't impact me as I am not familiar with this game, but it is absolute bullshit.

There should be a law mandating that all single player modes be playable without any Internet connection, and mandating that content bought in digital stores be available in perpetuity. Shut down the multiplayer servers after several years once no one plays it anymore, that's fine, but always retain access to the software, and allow people to play private multiplayer games.

I hope they face enough outrage (or lawsuits) that the industry is forced to change its ways.


Otherwise:

d3423w2g5ur21~2.jpg


I have at times been on the record opposing piracy, and I really do think that we should pay for what we consume. At the same time I am all in favor of using piracy as a form of protest.

Require a single player game to have an Internet connection? Require me to install your shitty one publisher/developer store/launcher? Have a habit of removing access to things people have paid for? Well screw you. I was going to pay you, but instead I'll have my cake and eat it too.
 
Last edited:
Welcome to the future my friends, where you "buy" something but "own" nothing.
This is absolute crap. These game should never be online only. I made the mistake of buying Ghost Recon Breakpoint and playing, then realizing later onto a play session when my internet dropped that I can't play it offline because it drops you from the game play immediately. So stupid how ubisoft has gone. I don't know if any of their games are playable offline at this point.....
 
This problem is not just a games problem it's an all software problem now. Games though are at least a little bit more forgiving given the preservation movement and sites like GoG. Lots of non gaming older applications that went subscription only, killed off their "activation" servers for perpetual licenses to push them onto subscriptions. They refuse to remove activation/DRM and say your only choice is to buy a subscription to their new software when your activation is revoked when your machine dies or you upgrade.

Yes it should be illegal, but you know what I bet unless laws are written in we lose in any kind of court battle because of the EULA/ToS that everyone clicks "I agree" but never reads or even if they read doesn't really agree with but forced to press "I agree" just to get to work.
 
LurkerLito said:
This problem is not just a games problem it's an all software problem now. Games though are at least a little bit more forgiving given the preservation movement and sites like GoG. Lots of non gaming older applications that went subscription only, killed off their "activation" servers for perpetual licenses to push them onto subscriptions. They refuse to remove activation/DRM and say your only choice is to buy a subscription to their new software when your activation is revoked when your machine dies or you upgrade.

Yes it should be illegal, but you know what I bet unless laws are written in we lose in any kind of court battle because of the EULA/ToS that everyone clicks "I agree" but never reads or even if they read doesn't really agree with but forced to press "I agree" just to get to work.
Click to expand...

I bought a license for Office 2019 because I didn't want Microsofts cloud bullshit. Turns out I couldn't get it to install or activate without tying it to a Microsoft account. I refuse to create a Microsoft account under any circumstance. I requested a refund. It's bullshit.

I use LibreOffice and Gimp now. I will never pay Microsoft or Adobe one red cent in subscription fees, come hell or high water.

The fact that everyone just rolled over and accepted it because it was the easy thing to do drives me into a blind rage. We let them do this to us. If everyone had just said "I refuse to pay for this" they could never have done it.

So here's a big ole "fuck you" to anyone who has ever paid for a software subscription. It's your fault.
 
d3athf1sh said:
and you think since you can play this single player, they'd keep it playable. you'd think ubisoft wouldn't want the bad press right now? but this looks like our digital future gentleman.

View attachment 620106
Click to expand...
OK. So I don't know anything about this game. But I still have to ask? Why did the company announce this change? So they could save the cost of a few lousy servers? The bad PR, and customer dissatisfaction, that's going to cost them majorly. I expect their revenues will go into a long-term decline.
 
Software as a service everybody… this is what it gets us, we don’t buy games we license them. The license is clear we are entitled to flap all so if their service comes to an end all they owe us is an FYI.
 
philb2 said:
OK. So I don't know anything about this game. But I still have to ask? Why did the company announce this change? So they could save the cost of a few lousy servers? The bad PR, and customer dissatisfaction, that's going to cost them majorly. I expect their revenues will go into a long-term decline.
Click to expand...
They wanted to save money on servers. It's a 2014 game, that I doubt has many people playing it. I can't blame Ubisoft for shutting it down, but that doesn't mean they should leave the game unplayable. I'm not sure if the game has been cracked, because I can't find cracks for it. I'm sure if there's enough interest that someone might crack it, but Xbox and Playstation owners are 100% screwed. This should be a reminder why you shouldn't hate your friendly neighborhood pirates, because these people maybe the only way to play a game that you paid for. Also why we should never EVER want always online DRM. If companies abandon their games, then they should just release the source code. I'm able to play Brutal Doom on my Nintendo Switch because long ago John Carmack released the source code. Not that Doom isn't still released on new hardware, but I can still play my legit copy of Doom that I have on floppy disks thanks to projects like GZDoom.
 
DukenukemX said:
This should be a reminder why you shouldn't hate your friendly neighborhood pirates, because these people maybe the only way to play a game that you paid for
Click to expand...
No the crackers are the ones who do that. The pirates are just freeloaders.
 
Imagine wanting to play a PC game that requires online activation XD
 
GoldenTiger said:
No the crackers are the ones who do that. The pirates are just freeloaders.
Click to expand...
chickens and eggs my guy, you can't have one without the other

besides, what about the millions of people that paid full price + season pass/dlc? guess they can all just pound sand?
 
Last edited:
LurkerLito said:
This problem is not just a games problem it's an all software problem now. Games though are at least a little bit more forgiving given the preservation movement and sites like GoG. Lots of non gaming older applications that went subscription only, killed off their "activation" servers for perpetual licenses to push them onto subscriptions. They refuse to remove activation/DRM and say your only choice is to buy a subscription to their new software when your activation is revoked when your machine dies or you upgrade.

Yes it should be illegal, but you know what I bet unless laws are written in we lose in any kind of court battle because of the EULA/ToS that everyone clicks "I agree" but never reads or even if they read doesn't really agree with but forced to press "I agree" just to get to work.
Click to expand...

you know another thing is that steam is gonna sit back and quietly go along with this, remember when they started all this how he told us if they ever go out of business they can hit a switch and make everything free and downloadable so we NEVER lose the games we paid for? so how does THIS work with that promise? shouldn't they start MAKING publishers have a way of making them always playable if they want to sell on the steam platform? this kind of stuff never happened before all these companies started requiring us to use their own launchers behind steam. because this isn't the first time this has happened and they throw their hands up and act like it's just out of their hands now.
 
Darunion said:
Yea. I still feel that video games are a level of art and should always exist (in some form) and companies should provide a way to immortalize it so people could always enjoy it no matter when.
Click to expand...
Especially such a timeless classic as...✍️ checking notes... The Crew?

I couldn't breathe when I heard the news.

unsrscandidate-homelander.gif
 
DPI said:
Especially such a timeless classic as...✍️ checking notes... The Crew?

I couldn't breathe when I heard the news.
Click to expand...

I mean while you might not like it, im sure there are people that did. Or maybe even anyone that worked on the project would like to be able to show it off at some point. I know you are just being cheeky ubisoft (ugh for source) is claiming 40million players across the crew franchise, so someone is playing it.

Also this should be upsetting, even if it isnt a game you personally enjoyed, physical copies of this game with single player will be unplayable.
 

Offline Mode is in the game​

https://steamcommunity.com/app/241560/discussions/0/3803901559414708777/

Community Offline Patch: Work has begun, but we need help.​

https://steamcommunity.com/app/241560/discussions/0/3879346999810591752/
Zarathustra[H] said:
I bought a license for Office 2019 because I didn't want Microsofts cloud bullshit. Turns out I couldn't get it to install or activate without tying it to a Microsoft account. I refuse to create a Microsoft account under any circumstance. I requested a refund. It's bullshit.

I use LibreOffice and Gimp now. I will never pay Microsoft or Adobe one red cent in subscription fees, come hell or high water.

The fact that everyone just rolled over and accepted it because it was the easy thing to do drives me into a blind rage. We let them do this to us. If everyone had just said "I refuse to pay for this" they could never have done it.

So here's a big ole "fuck you" to anyone who has ever paid for a software subscription. It's your fault.
Click to expand...
My copy of Office 2013 installs just fine without a Microsoft account, but tying it to one makes it much easier to manage. If Microsoft one day decides to shut down authentication for older versions of Office I will still be able to use it. When The Crew goes offline you won't be able to use it at all anymore.
 
M76 said:
How short sighted can one be? If you turn a blind eye now, eventually it will be a game that you like and would like to continue playing.
Click to expand...
In my head i picture the scenario of going and finding something in my steam backlog i havent played and when i go to play it, its just not playable, and of course zero hours and a few years of time wont count for refund. And extreme exaggeration but what if games just start coming with 3 year shelf life because it makes financial sense to publishers to just release it online only and then can it for the sequel?
 
Unfortunately this has been the way of things last few years. I think it's disgusting. Related to this, how many shows have been erased from various streaming services? Some they no longer sell physical copies. Only way to get it is to pirate it. It's the equivalent of book burning in my mind. Ubisoft pulling this crap is no different.

I'm not an Ubisoft fan and this makes me even less so. As many have already mentioned, there was no reason they couldn't have made it single player and allow people to start up private servers.

And as always....the big problem is the pirate gets the better experience.
 
d3athf1sh said:
you know another thing is that steam is gonna sit back and quietly go along with this, remember when they started all this how he told us if they ever go out of business they can hit a switch and make everything free and downloadable so we NEVER lose the games we paid for? so how does THIS work with that promise? shouldn't they start MAKING publishers have a way of making them always playable if they want to sell on the steam platform? this kind of stuff never happened before all these companies started requiring us to use their own launchers behind steam. because this isn't the first time this has happened and they throw their hands up and act like it's just out of their hands now.
Click to expand...
Actually steam basically went back on that promise a while ago when Steam changed the wording of the ToS from "Purchasing" a game to "purchasing a Subscription" to a game. IIRC they did that because a US court already ruled that a person "subscribing" to content is not entitled to receive a local copy in the event the subscription service is terminated. So you really have no recourse if steam goes down as there are only a small number of games that will run without the steam client running. Those are basically the only ones that would survive the steam-pocalypse if it ever happens.
 
Darunion said:
In my head i picture the scenario of going and finding something in my steam backlog i havent played and when i go to play it, its just not playable, and of course zero hours and a few years of time wont count for refund. And extreme exaggeration but what if games just start coming with 3 year shelf life because it makes financial sense to publishers to just release it online only and then can it for the sequel?
Click to expand...
I have lots of those, not even sitting for 3 years, but many more. Either purchased because I thought I'll eventually play it, or because I used to like it as a kid when I had no money to buy games.
 
Darunion said:
In my head i picture the scenario of going and finding something in my steam backlog i havent played and when i go to play it, its just not playable, and of course zero hours and a few years of time wont count for refund. And extreme exaggeration but what if games just start coming with 3 year shelf life because it makes financial sense to publishers to just release it online only and then can it for the sequel?
Click to expand...

That's already happening with smartphone games. And now we have Xboxes without even having optical drives for physical games. People used to make fun of me for only buying physical PC games without online activation, but now it appears I was right all along about what this means for the future of video games.
 
M76 said:
or because I used to like it as a kid when I had no money to buy games.
Click to expand...
I have picked up several of those too. Seeing them in a magazine and having to pick one game out of 5 you wanted.
 
ZodaEX said:
That's already happening with smartphone games. And now we have Xboxes without even having optical drives for physical games. People used to make fun of me for only buying physical PC games without online activation, but now it appears I was right all along about what this means for the future of video games.
Click to expand...
Honestly I was someone that took the opposite stance. Quite ignorantly trading away possession for convenience. Thinking maybe companies wont be assholes and we can just have a near infinite library of games throughout history at our fingertips.

oops.
 
well, it's official R.I.P. ... i hope people remember this before investing in live service games. or games from the likes of ubisoft when it would've been easy for them to patch it to let you play offline single player.

crew_shutdown.jpg
 
But recurrent user "engagement" is the future of all capitalism..?

The return of feudalism might hit a few roadblocks I guess. Sometimes the serfs don't want to recurrently engage.
 
Damn, I got that as a free game, never played it and now it is to late, oh well. Guess I will free up some disk space now. :)
 
d3athf1sh said:
well, it's official R.I.P. ... i hope people remember this before investing in live service games. or games from the likes of ubisoft when it would've been easy for them to patch it to let you play offline single player.
Click to expand...
Be kinda nice if they had in the error message that the game is no longer supported instead of "check your settings because it prolly is your fault".
 
Twisted Kidney said:
But recurrent user "engagement" is the future of all capitalism..?

The return of feudalism might hit a few roadblocks I guess. Sometimes the serfs don't want to recurrently engage.
Click to expand...
This is more of a problem with publicly traded companies because ultimately they have to cater to their shareholders. They don't care about bad press or their reputation, but they do care about their shareholders. UbiSoft is so bad right now I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft or Sony just buys them up. That's what ultimately happens to a publicly traded company once it's reputation has been dragged down to the dirt. Someone else buys them and suddenly all is forgiven. Except that whoever buys Ubisoft will continue their practices and do even worse things. I believe that the suits who run these companies look down on gamers. If GamerGate2 has taught me anything, is that it's popular to hate gamers within the industry. It's encouraged to hate gamers. They perceive gamers as walking talking idiots who will buy anything they produce. If anyone suggests to pirate The Crew, because at this point it's the only way to play the game you bought, there's a group of people who will shame you for doing so. How dare you suggest piracy when starving game developers will go home without food to feed their families? When the reality is the developers who made the game were fired weeks before the launch of the game and are now looking for work. You still don't have access to a game you paid.
 
Bigbacon said:
man thats frightning that its been 10 years....swore it was like 5. Games like Division could easily be played offline. I'm amazed Ubi doesn't just sell a "Patch" to players so they can do that when they plan to kill the game.
Click to expand...
I feel like the PR hit from that would be just as bad. "ubisoft is now selling me the ability to play my game that i already paid for".

Patching it for offline play would have to come free.

And then theres the argument of why dont they just do that out the door initially?
 
Darunion said:
I know i hate more government involvement, but i really want any game released to have a written EOL plan at release which would include whether they will remove playability or provide an offline mode and this EOL plan needs to be enforced. Not sure how to go about it but would help in my opinion.
Click to expand...

I would support regulation that requires that all games are fully playable in perpetuity offline without ever connecting tot he internet. If they are multipleyer, this would need to be made possible with community servers.
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
I would support regulation that requires that all games are fully playable in perpetuity offline without ever connecting tot he internet. If they are multipleyer, this would need to be made possible with community servers.
Click to expand...
actually this guy has actually been trying to do something about it. and got started around the time when the crew shutdown was announced. he's talking to people and lawyers in as many countries as possible. if anyone is interested or want to get involved here's the latest video on it which came out today. channel name "accursed farms"

edit: actually i'm just now watching it he also started a website https://www.stopkillinggames.com

View: https://youtu.be/w70Xc9CStoE

The largest campaign ever to stop publishers destroying games
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top